This is going to sound like a joke at first but if I had to meet with someone I would use the location to determine if the meeting was going to be a ‘good’ meeting or not.  I guess to be honest we all have some strange things we do…so this is one of mine.  If you have ever had a boss, co-worker, friend, or direct report ask you to meet the first question that comes to mind is “why?”. Here are some things I have learned about what people say when they ask you to meet and what it ‘might’ mean.  These are just my observations and are really meant to be funny/true.  

We should meet up sometime: OUTCOME:  There will probably never be a meeting between you two.  In fact this is sometimes known as the socially acceptable way to stop talking now.  This does not mean that you or the current subject matter is not engaging, it simply means that other things are more important in the mind of the person you are talking with.  I have been on the receiving end of this and have occasionally caught myself saying this.  The bottom line is if you want to meet up and really mean it, go ahead and schedule the next step.

Can we meet for coffee?: OUTCOME: This can go two ways.  If this is someone you really don’t know, you will probably spend a great deal of time talking about yourself.  This is not a bad thing. Usually when someone invites you to coffee and you don’t really know them, this becomes code for can I get to know you…again not a bad thing.  Then there is the other direction.  Sometimes people might ask this question of you because they need to work through an issue with you or with something/someone else in their life.  In any event, this will probably not be a short meeting so go ahead and grab a slice of lemon pound cake (my favorite) with that coffee and cancel any commitments you have the rest of the afternoon.  This way you have ample time to talk through things.

Let’s meet at the Cracker Barrel: OUTCOME: I have found that when someone invites you to the Cracker Barrel, this could be a mixed blessing.  Chances are they have something heavy that they need to talk with you about, however when you mix the conversation with a ‘family’ setting it usually makes the discussion more ‘family’ like and less business feeling. In either case your cholesterol went up the minute you walked into the door, so go ahead and order a glass of sweet tea and get the country boy breakfast or the chicken friend chicken, either way your tastebuds are about to blessed.

We need to meet now (location irrelevant): OUTCOME:  Well, this is pretty self explanatory.  This is usually crisis centered.  Something will more than likely be wrong/incorrect.  The details of such and tie to you is what needs to be discussed.

Let’ catch up online or by text:  OUTCOME:  Miscommunication will usually occur.  As far as my experiences have been (yours could be different), when you communicate via Facebook, email, or via text message you will probably experience frustration.  Why is this?  I suspect it’s because as we communicate with others, we read body language and facial expressions.  Both of these things help us determine intent and help us understand if “STOP IT” means they are yelling or just joking around.  The bottom line here is that it’s ALWAYS better to meet someone in person.  God has designed us to be around others and to communicate with others.